Hungry in Caracas

Tucked away in a back street of Caracas, the Mother Teresa of Calcutta soup kitchen provides food for all sorts, from the unemployed and homeless, to those who have jobs but still find it difficult to make ends meet.

The centre faces its own struggles, however. Shortages of basic products have become the norm in Venezuela over the last year and finding the goods to lay on a free, daily meal has become an ever harder task.

17 Mar 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

For over a decade Fernanda Bolivar (pictured above) has worked at the church-supported soup kitchen, named for the Roman Catholic nun who helped the poor and dying in India.

Like many other Venezuelan shoppers, she rises at 4 a.m. to start queueing - normally for several hours - at a supermarket near the shelter with hundreds of others.

"I queue for hours every day because you can only get one thing one day, another the next," she said. "The situation's got terrible in the last year."

19 Mar 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

"I've been coming every day for years, I'm one of the family here," said jobless Vladimir Garcia, 56, who has been helping Bolivar to stand in line for the centre's food.

Opponents of President Nicolas Maduro's government say these queues outside supermarkets are a symbol of failed socialist economics, but officials say businessmen are deliberately hoarding products as part of an "economic war" against him.

They point to popular social welfare programs, and a halving of poverty levels since Maduro's successor Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999, as evidence that Venezuela's poor are better cared for than ever.

8 Apr 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

The stories of the people who come to the Mother Teresa soup kitchen are as varied as their country's politics.

Reuters photographer Carlos Garcia Rawlins spent several days at the eating centre, taking portraits of the diners and asking them about their lives.

Among those he met was 43-year-old Monica Flores, a former beauty queen, pictured above. Flores is now homeless and works as a street vendor. She says she has been coming to the soup kitchen for a long time.

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Slideshow

20 Mar 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Fernanda Bolivar buys vegetables from a street vendor close to the Mother Teresa of Calcutta soup kitchen.

17 Mar 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

She prepares food in the Mother Teresa centre.

17 Mar 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

A man grabs a bowl of food at the soup kitchen.

21 Mar 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Ali Villalta, 58, poses for a picture at the centre. Ali, who used to be a construction worker, lives on the streets. He has been coming to the soup kitchen for over two years because he is unemployed and has no money.

19 Mar 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Luis Mendoza, 58, used to be a soldier and worked as a telecommunications technician. He now lives on the streets. He has been having meals at the Mother Teresa centre for over two years, because he has no money and no job.

8 Apr 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Ivan Flores, 58, lives with his family and used to be a construction worker. He has been coming to the eating centre for over three years because he has no money.

21 Mar 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Alexis Bello, 43, was homeless for 20 years and is now living with his mother. He used to work as a shop decorator and has been eating at the centre for over 10 years.

8 Apr 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Felix Ramirez, 67, lives with his wife and used to work as a truck driver and construction worker. He has been eating at the soup kitchen for over three years, because he says he is too old to find another job.

19 Mar 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Marisol Gil lives with her sister and used to work as a moneylender and merchant. She says she has been having meals at the soup kitchen for over two years because she is unemployed.

8 Apr 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

German Martinez, 50, lives with his brother and used to be a construction worker. He has been eating at the soup kitchen for over two years.

21 Mar 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Carlos Son, 60, lives alone and used to work as a plumber. He has been having meals at the Mother Teresa centre for more than a year.

8 Apr 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Felipe Correa, 62, lives on the streets and used to work in cleaning and maintenance. He has been eating at the centre for over six months, because he spends all of his earnings on alcohol.

19 Mar 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

William Osorio, 40, is homeless and used to work as a mechanic. He has been having meals at the soup kitchen for over four years out of necessity, and because he likes the food.

19 Mar 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Andres Prato, 66, lives in a rented room and used to be a rescue worker. He has been having meals at the Mother Teresa centre for a very long time because he says the money he earns working on the streets is not enough to buy food.

9 Apr 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Felipe Cabral, 65, lives on the streets and used to work as a satellite television technician. He has been eating at the centre for over eight years, because he is unemployed and hungry.

19 Mar 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Luis Rojas, 53, lives with his sick brother and used to be a sports trainer. He has been having meals at the soup kitchen for six months.

21 Mar 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Fernando Escalona, 51, lives with his brothers. He used to be a framer, but currently works cleaning a mall. He has been coming to the soup kitchen for over four months because he cannot afford enough food.

19 Mar 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Everson Rodriguez, 22, lives on the streets and used to be a construction worker. He has been eating at the soup kitchen for over six months. Although he makes some money keeping an eye on parked cars, he spends all of his earnings on drugs.

19 Mar 2014. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Fernanda Bolivar, 54, rests after serving lunch at the Mother Teresa centre. She began working at the soup kitchen after becoming so hungry herself that one day she went to a priest to ask for help. He gave her some food and a job at the eating centre.

"As always with these sorts of projects, the most interesting part is getting to know the individuals involved."
Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Reuters Photographer

For a year or so now, we photographers have been illustrating Venezuela’s economic crisis with photos of empty shelves and queues forming outside supermarkets. But now I wanted to do something different.

In search of a more intimate perspective on the story, I found out about a eating centre in Caracas that has been caring for homeless people for the last 14 years. At first, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to find it. The only directions I had were: “it’s in San Martin district, under a bridge next to some tyres”.

But even though there was no one on the phone who could help me pinpoint the centre’s exact location, when I arrived in the area a strong smell of vegetable soup wafting from behind a closed door let me know I was on the right track. Sure enough, there it was: The Mother Teresa of Calcutta eating centre.

In a dishevelled back street of central Caracas, under a bridge, the centre houses a number of long, concrete tables and benches. It has faded indigo-blue walls and bears marks from the floods that occur regularly during the rainy season, with just a couple of lightbulbs to complement the faint stream of light from the only window in the place. Willy, the shelter’s resident cat, helps keep the floor clean of scraps.

The centre’s Venezuelan version of Mother Teresa is Fernanda, a warm and smiling lady, who for over a decade has been carefully preparing soup in a gigantic pot. When someone makes a special donation or the budget stretches far enough, she provides a meat dish. The food is always free, and no questions are asked of the people who come in to eat it.

As always with these sorts of projects, the most interesting part is getting to know the individuals involved. Spending time with the 50 or so people who fill the soup kitchen every day was a very special experience and everyone I spoke to had an amazing story.

I wanted to take portraits of everyone I met, but to start with not many of the soup kitchen’s visitors were willing to be photographed or to chat with me about their personal circumstances.

But when the first ones agreed, I brought them a copy of their photo the next day, and it was incredible to see how they cracked up laughing at the pictures of themselves. They were so thankful when I told them that these photos were presents. One of them even had tears in his eyes when he told me that he had not seen himself for many years. After that, they all wanted pictures and eagerly compared among themselves who had and had not received a photo yet.

As for Fernanda, her story is remarkable too. Leaning against her kitchen surface, she told me how she had been so hungry one day that she knocked on a priest’s house asking for help. He gave her food and – more importantly – a job at the soup kitchen. She’s been working there ever since.

Her biggest problem these days is finding the ingredients she needs. I stood with her outside the supermarket in the queues that form in the early morning. Hundreds of people wait for hours in these lines before the store opens, some starting before dawn, to buy whatever is in stock that day. Often, basics like rice or lentils are not available, so Fernanda has to go back the next day and queue all over again.